I like the stains on your dress
by Porcia
Summary: My breaths were sharp, and it was as though someone was pushing down on my chest, forcing the air out of my lungs. Help... I managed to moan out as he turned to the door...
1. Up against the wall

I was sitting on the chair, waiting. The neon lights above me were flickering, they were warning me. He would come and find me soon, and then everything would change; That much I knew.

It had been far too long since we had last seen one another... since he left me to rott.

_My breath was caught in my throat, as he pushed me up against the wall of his room, his eyes black. His hands against the wall, locking me into his trap. My lips were being assaulted by his ravenous cold flesh. My hands making their way under the hem of his shirt, feeling his cold, solid body. He pulled his lips away from mine, pressing his forehead against mine, "I need to sto--" he started. "Shut up." My voice was cold, husked with desire. I quickly pulled his lips back onto mine, my tongue making it's way past his lips. And that was it... I pushed him too far. His hand nearly broke my shoulders as he slammed my back onto the wall; out of instinct, I wrapped my legs around his waist, ignoring the pain that now rocked through my body. He pulled his mouth away from mine, and glided his nose along my jaw line, taking deep, ragged breaths. I hardly even noticed him bite into my warm flesh. A gasp shot through my lips as I placed a hand on his shoulder, pulling him closer to me. He suddenly let go of me, letting me slide down the wall, crashing onto the floor. Across the room, he was bent over, his hands shaking against his knees. "Fuck!" He growled, he looked up at me, his red eyes burning into mine; and then, almost as if his eyes had sparked a fire, my entire body began to burn, as though my blood was boiling beneath my skin. My breaths were sharp, and it was as though someone was pushing down on my chest, forcing the air out of my lungs. "Help..." I managed to moan out as he turned to the door, punching a hole through it. "FUCK!" His scream shook the floor, and my heart suddenly felt as though it was being squeezed, as if it was a sponge. He turned to look into my pained eyes before disappearing through the door... leaving me tossing and turning on the floor. _

I had never seen him again... when the overwhelming pain subsided, I found the room completly wrecked. I had stepped out of his room, only to find everything gone. Nothing. No cars. No furniture. No one. No Edward.

Over eighty years had past, and I had managed to thrive in the changing world without Edward, without his guidance, without his family. And yet here I was, awaiting his arrival. I closed my eyes and visualized him, walking towards a large building, being dragged by his sisters. My eyes shot open, a smile making its way onto my porcelain lips. Finally.

I stood up, making my way past the open door, down the dirty hallways. The neon lights flickered furiously as I passed them... My black heels clicked on the floor all the way to large metal doors that took up the entire wall. I placed my hand infront of me, and the heavy doors flew open.

**I was pushed onto one of the red silk couches by my sisters. Of couse, Emmet and Jasper were with us, but they only seemed to enjoy watching Alice and Rose drag me around. This club, if you can call it that, was packed. It was, however, packed with people of our kind. The things that were going on would have made any human blush or run with fear. Our numbers had grown substansially over the years, and it seemed as though we developped a sense of community.**

**I never joined my family when they came to these places, knowing full well of the distastefull things that went on here, but on this particular night I had caved in. Years of torment had finally worn me down. Heavy music was blasting through large speakers, perhaps not my favorite music, but a great beat none the less. I searched the room, looking for my now dissapeared siblings, when something in the corner of my eyes caught my attention. Black heels, legs for days, tight black skirt, skin tight white dress shirt,unbottoned, showing off clevage. Then it hit me as my eyes travelled north to her face... it was her...**

His eyes looked me over, as a bitter taste made it's way to the back of my throat. My eyes narrowed themselves as he finally saw my face. He realized who I was, and had he been human, his heart would have stopped beating. He stood up, shocked, unsure. I started making my way towards him slowly, parting the crowd. He looked delicious, dressed head to toe in black, a colour I had hardly ever seen him wear. His tousled hair hadn't changed a bit, his eyes were the deep topaz colour that I had loved so long ago. A hand reached out and grabbed his; Alice. She starred at me, unsure wether to be afraid, surprised or happy. I reached them, I got as close to him as I possibly could, my face less then 2 inches away from his.

"Hello Edward..." My husky voice let out.

"Bella." His voice was angry.

"Oh Edward... you haven't changed a bit." I smirked, knowing what his next move would be. I always knew. He grabbed my hand forcefully, sending shocks through my body; something I hadn't expected.

"You've changed." His eyes were black, his voice stern. Oh how right he was. It seemed that being turned had not only made me devastatingly beautiful, bold, and talented; I could see everything that was happening in the present moment, no matter where it was, I could control objects, no matter how heavy of large they were, and what was perhaps my greatest gift of all, blood still ran through my body, my heart was still beating, even though i had no use for it.

"No, Edward, you changed me, remember?" I whispered, my lips now at his ear. "I'm not foolish enough to think you forgot about that, love..." My lips brushed against his ear lightly as I breathed in his scent, it was dizzying..

"Your heart..." His voice was deep, dark. Of course he could hear my heart beat, of course he could smell my blood... I could make any vampires go insane, they would search for the source of the blood, thirsty, only to find me.

"Still beating, but dead... I guess I just wasn't ready to lose my heart." As the words left my lips, my mind questioned itself, should I hate him? or should I love him as I once had?

"Bella..." Alice's soft voice brought me back to the task at hand, she was searching for answers, coincidently the same ones i was searching for. She couldn't see wether I would forgive him or not, her inability to see past this point drove her crazy. I smiled at her, ignoring the voice in the back of my head telling me to hate her for leaving me, for following her brother.

"Hello Alice." I turned my attention back to Edward. He was still taller then me, and still intimidating, but somehow that didn't make me want to back down.

"Come with me." His voice was forcefull, his hand dragging me with him as he ran through the crowd, leaving a stunned Alice standing by herself, a shocked Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie making their way towards her.

We made our way to a small hotel room. The walls were dark red, the bed covered with black sheets. He pushed me down onto the bed, I quickly sat myself up, leaning on one hand, my legs strewn seductively on the bed. He stood infront of me, looking down at me.

"Bella, I'm sorry." He eyes grew sad. And then something snapped inside my head, I lost control of myself, I lunged at him, pushing him up against the wall, denting the plaster with his body.

"You fucking asshole! You fucking left me! YOU LEFT ME! I HAD NO WHERE TO GO! NO ONE TO TURN TO! YOU DIDN'T WANT TO TURN ME BECAUSE YOU DIDNT WANT TO DAMN ME AND YET WHEN YOU DO CHANGE ME YOU LEAVE ME BY MYSELF? YOU DAMN ME TO SPEND MY LIFE ALONE? AND THEN YOU SEE ME AND ALL YOU CAN SAY IS "I'M SORRY" ?" My voice was booming, and without thinking, my hand slapped him across his perfect face. The slap made a thunderous noise, shaking the chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

His eyes seemed to register pain for a split second, before he bowed his head... was he ashamed now?

"I didn't want to change you Bella! I LOST CONTROL! I'M SORRY! I'VE BEEN LIVING WITH THIS GUILT FOR MORE THEN HALF A CENTURY NOW! IM FUCKING SORRY! There hasn't been a SINGLE FUCKING DAY when I don't THINK ABOUT YOU! Fuck Bella, I don't think you know how fucking sorry I am, how fucking much I love you..." His hands somehow managed to make their way to my face, cupping it gently. It was only then that I realized that a tear was streaming down my cheek, a downside to my humanity. His lips fell softly to my cheek, catching the solitary tear. He licked his lips quickly, tasting it. I took myself out of his grip, and walked backwards until my knees reached the bed, he walked slowly towards me.

"Bella... can you believe that after all this I still love you? That I never stopped?" His voice was soft, his eyes the radiant topaz that indicated his sincerity. His face was only an inch from mine, his cool breath blowing onto my long eyelashes. Out of instinct, my hands rested on his chest.

"Can you believe that for 86 years I've been all over the world, completly empty, driving everyone crazy, because the only thing I wanted to do was run back to you, and hold you? Bella, leaving you there was the worst thing that's ever happened to me... I wasn't able to look at myself for years, knowing I was the monster that did this to you. I love you so fucking much... I hope you know that, Isabella." His whispers sent tingles down my spine... I starred into his eyes, knowing that what i was about to do next would change the game completly.


	2. The ache

It was as though everything suddenly made sense. As though a surge of electricity traveled through my body, igniting feelings that I had buried deep inside of myself long ago. My heart was beating quickly, and it was only then that I realized that I had lost. Edward had erased all my intentions of revenge, or hostile behavior. I starred into his topaz eyes, the eyes that I had missed so terribly, the eyes that I always believed held the entire world. There weren't any words that would come out of my mouth coherently, I was, once more, defenseless in the arms of my angel. My hands moved on his chest, smoothing down invisible wrinkles in the soft fabric of his shirt. My eyes strayed to his lips before quickly looking back into his magnetic eyes. I slowly brought my face closer to his, parting my lips, just enough to feel his breath on my skin, before tilting my head down. My lips found themselves at the base of his neck, simply resting there, simply warming his body with my unnatural heat. I began gliding my lips across his neck, placing a few kisses, softer then a moth's wings across his soft, cold skin. I was moving at a painfully slow pace, his hands shifted to rest softly on my hips. I continued my path towards his soft lips, the closer I got, the tighter the grip he had on my hips would get. The contact of our skin was driving me wild. I finally made my way to his lips, he was still, our eyes closed, and my lips softly pushed on his pillowy lips. His stone-like figure became responsive, his left hand making a trail from my hip, up my back, past the center of my shoulder blades, before tangling itself in my long brown hair, inavertedly pulling me closer to his hard body. His tongue made its way past my lips; I let my body start to fall back onto the bed, bringing him down on top of me. He quickly straddled me, both of his hands now tangled in my hair, as my hands were reaching under the hem of his shirt, slowly rubbing the soft cold skin of his back. He abruptly pulled his lips away from mine.

"I love you... God do I love you Bella." He sounded out of breath, something I had never imagined him sounding like. He almost seemed at a loss for words. His lips came crashing down on mine once more, our lips parting. His teeth roughly pulled at my bottom lip, my back arching up in pleasure. He softly bit down on my lip, a small drip of the cursed red blood that still plagued my body making its way onto his tongue. He pulled his lips back abruptly, unsure of what he was doing anymore.

"Edward, please..." My eyes were pleading with him, my hands digging into his cold back. He suddenly stood up at the foot of the bed, breaking himself from my grasp. I sat up, my eyes not leaving his black orbs.

"Edward, you can't hurt me anymore... you can't." My voice was hoarse, I was having trouble breathing. I stood up, placing my hands in his. He leaned in, his forehead meeting mine before our lips entangled themselves once more in a passionate kiss. My hands quickly found the buttons of his shirt, ripping it open, scattering buttons all over the floor. His cold hands made their way to the buttons of my blouse, carefully unbuttoning the remaining buttons. My hands ran across his ridiculously toned stomach, before reaching up to his shoulders, which I clung on to as though my life would end without his touch. His lips parted from mine, running down my neck, to my now exposed chest. His lips left trails across the skin that my red lace bra exposed. His hands maneuvered themselves to the clasp of my bra, quickly untieing it. He cupped my breasts quickly, his lips never leaving my skin before I ripped myself from his touch. I turned us, pushing him down roughly onto the bed. I removed my skirt, standing at the foot of the bed, he was sprawled out, propping himself up with his elbows. His eyes followed my skirt falling to the floor, before trailing back up slowly to meet my eyes. A smirk made its way onto my lips. I kneeled onto the bed, crawling to him. His hands reached out, grabbing me by the material of my red lace underwear, pulling me to his body. There was nothing to hold me back anymore, I wanted this, I wanted him, my Edward. It had been so long since I had felt this complete, this satisfied. I quickly undid his pants, helping him slid out of them. I laid on his body once more, my body heat rising; It was as though I was boiling, as though the heat was mirroring the passion running through us. My eyes met his, and for a moment, shock ran through my body... his eyes were blue. His lips slightly parted, he looked at me, equally shocked.

"You're eyes..." I managed to say, a lump caught in my throat. Was I doing something wrong?

"You're eyes are blue, Bella." His voice seemed shaky. What? I pulled away from him for a moment, running to the washroom attached to the bedroom. I found myself in-front of a mirror, starring at blue eyes. Edward stood behind me, looking marveled at his own eyes. He suddenly looked away from our reflections and turned to look at me.

"Bella... we're made for one another." His lips curved into a smile, his eyes dancing. I smiled at him, before dashing out of the washroom, throwing myself onto the bed, spreading myself across the comforter. He soon stood above me before laying down beside me. His hands found their way to my jaw, slowly tracing my jawbone.

"You'll never know how much I suffered all these years without you... God... I still can't believe you're right here, with me, laying on this bed. I'm never going to be able to forgive myself, Bella, but right now, I'm so happy that you're the way you are." His nose found its way to my neck, carefully taking in my scent which was only amplified after my transformation. My hands found their way to his chest, making themselves at home on his perfect body.

"Edward Cullen, you will never understand how much I need you here." My lips then parted, meeting passionately with his once more. I climbed onto him once more, and we let our passion take us over. Something we had never been able to do before, something we had never ventured doing in the past, what with my frail human body, and his strong desire for my blood ready to overpower him at any moment. Our bodies seemed to yearn for re-compensation for the near decade we had spent apart. How I ever hated this man, this perfect Adonis, this God, I will never know, never understand. All that mattered now, was that Edward was mine, and I would be forever his...


	3. Cold Water

My unnatural slumber was plagued by dark, twisted dreams

My unnatural slumber was plagued by dark, twisted dreams. I was dead; I was drowning in cold grey water, millions of dead bodies floating with me beneath the surface. The white dress I was wearing created an eerie glow, matching the colour of the corpses' bodies. Their eyes were still open, their mouths still open, as though they were still gasping for that one last breath that would have potentially saved their lives. I became aware of the loneliness of the water, seeing these people float around in time, still dressed, still clutching onto one another; they would never breath again, never smile or laugh. Their families would never quite get over their deaths, the would never see the love of their life again… A sudden urge to swim to the surface overcame me, I pushed bodies out of my way, I had to get their fast, I had to reach the surface. The water was clearing up, I could see allusion of the clouds, I could feel my heart beating quickly, trying to escape from inside my body, trying to follow it's own path.

He was there, sitting on the sand with a man and a woman. The old woman had her arms around him, consoling him. His features were sunken; the man was patting his knee comfortingly, muttering a few words, shaking his head. I was dragging myself on the beach, my body was tired, but a force pushed me to reach him. I started to run, gasping for air, the white dress getting caught in my footing. I collapsed onto my knees right in front of him, searching for his eye. As I parted my lips, attempting to yell out his name, sand began to fall from my mouth and nose. The woman looked up at me, pity in her eyes, she tutted, starring at me from head to toe.

"It's a pity, my dear, that she became such a monster. Clearly, you could have done much better." Her voice was brash and cold.

"I know, mother, I should forget her, I didn't really love her anyways; she's dead to me." His words were soft, nonchalant, as though I wasn't in front of him. I bent over in pain, a sharp gasp emitting itself from my lips, the bitter taste of the sand still in my mouth. A dull stick had punctured my left breast, his hand still holding it in place. I looked up into his blue eyes, he finally saw me.

"I'm sorry, Bella." His eyes seemed dead, and yet his voice still sounded like an angel's hymn.

I felt my eyes close, my heart stop pounding in my chest, and a heat washed over my entire body, as I laid on the sand, legs folded beneath my body, arms sprawled out beside me. I was dead.

"Bella, it's just a dream…"

I stood up, hyperventilating, trying to catch the breath that I did not need. My eyes searched for him in the darkness, he was sitting beside me, covered only by a thin sheet, his hands rubbing my back up and down, trying to sooth me. I stopped breathing, turning my entire body towards him, climbing onto his lap, straddling his body. I drew one finger to his jaw line, tracing the contour of his jaw, dragging my labored expedition to his hard lips; I grabbed his face with both hands, steadying it. I searched his eyes, seeing the confusion behind them. Tears welled up in my eyes, and a feeling that I could not distinguish flowed over my body; relief or dread… I could not decide which one it was. I had never experienced a dream like that one, and I could not decide if I was happy that it was over, or dread it's meaning… Was tragedy about to strike? Would he be taken away from me after having just found him mere hours ago?

"Bella, it's okay. I am right here, I'm not leaving you, never again." He whispered, his alabaster hands entangling themselves in my hair. The coolness of his touch rocked me to my core; a shiver making it's way down my spine. I brought my parted lips to his, softly reuniting them, warming them up with my own. His hands moved down my back, resting them on my waist, pulling me down with him as he lay on the bed, not a spot of bodies not coming into contact with one another.

"Don't leave me, again. Don't… Please…"


	4. Hometown Glory

**Guys. Over 6,000 hits and 32 reviews? That's pathetic. As a general rule, reviews equal updates. If no one likes the story, why should I bother writing it?**

Now that I had him here with me, there wasn't a single part of my body that could possibly part with him. He was, is, always has been, _everything. _His eyes were turned towards me, as tears fought a valiant battle down my cheeks. Sobs racked my body, shallow gasps of air made their way from my lips. Sounds of torture escaped my lips; I could not loose him.

My dream had been so vivid, so raw, so real. He was going to leave… maybe not today, maybe not for a few months, maybe even years...but it was inevitable. And my heart could not handle it once more. There was no telling what I would become if I was to loose him once more. I found strength deep inside me to silently pray to God, a God that I knew would want nothing to do with me. I prayed with all my might, as I clung to his chest, running my fingers through his silken hair. I prayed for him to always find a way back to me, for him to stay by my side for eternity, however long eternity was.

"Shh, beautiful, stop crying." His voice murmured into my ear, his breath tickling my lobe. I separated us, momentarily, sitting up, my lower body still straddling his. I took in the sight of him, he chiseled jaw, his straight nose, finally, those unnatural blue eyes that forced themselves on us. I brought my hand, shaking, towards his cheek, where I lightly brushed his skin. His head turned into my hand, nestling itself in my palm, as though he were a cat who strived for attention.

"Edward… you can't possibly understand the guilt that lives inside me. I want to trust you, so much. I want to forgive you blindly, and forget everything that has ever happened, good or bad, so that we can just _be_ together." My eyes could not bring themselves to break contact with his, perhaps he could read what I was about to say… perhaps I wouldn't have to make them _so real_ by uttering them, by giving them a voice. I didn't want him to know that a bitterness had rooted itself deep within me, a bitterness that I had cultivated and cared for quite generously for a near century. "I just, I didn't anticipate this… I didn't anticipate loving you again… I.." His brusque movement caught me by surprise, he sat up, pulling our bodies together, our chests resting on one another, the tips of our noses touching.

"You can't get rid of me, Bella. I won't let you. I can't. Not now, not after all this…" His eyes burned me. I could feel my brain loosing its resolve. I could feel the uncertainty start to dissipate.

"Edward, my sweet Edward…" Our lips were merely touching, our breath hypnotizing one another. "You've said your piece… your apologies. But I have to… I have to tell you, how much I hated you, how much evil I wished upon you. I chose to see you again to avenge myself. I wanted you to suffer so much. I've become terrible, Edward. I am so dangerous for you. You shouldn't trust me…" My voice growing softer and softer, as I felt my heartbeat slow to a near stop. I closed my eyes, my forehead leaning into his, trying to freeze this moment in time, trying to stop every emotion that was bulldozing its way through my body and mind.

"Bella, my beautiful Bella." His right hand laid gently over my left breast, over my heart. "I can only imagine what I put you through. The worst part was knowing that however much I was hurting inside, however much I wanted to die… The worst part was knowing that _I _had inflicted those emotions only a hundred times stronger on _you_… Bella. If I could have cried, I would have done so countless times. I would have cried oceans of tears. Everything in me loves you. I love you. I need you." His hand cupped my breast gently, my labored breathing stopping entirely, as my heart jump started, beating furiously within its cage.

"I love you Edward… I love you...still... always." My lips pressed themselves against his, as my body melted into his, pushing us down onto the bed. My hand burned a path from his stomach to his chest, repeatedly. My lips breaking from his, enticing a soft whine at the loss from him. My mouth quickly attached itself to the side of his neck, suckling and biting gently at the cold milky skin. His hands made their way to my back, gently kneading the skin of my hips, making their way to my backside, bringing me closer to his body, allowing me to feel the sudden ache that his body felt. My lips detached themselves from his flesh, to exhale air that I had been holding for entirely too long. This pause gave me the chance to flip us over, for him to pin me to the mattress. He eyes searched for me, asking for my permission, asking for me to love him entirely, unconditionally. I couldn't bring myself to find the right words, to say the right thing. I did what any lover would have done, I kissed him. I kissed him with more passion then I ever had before. My legs would themselves around his, allowing him access to my body. He got the message, and pushed himself into me, entering me slowly, passionately, our lips never breaking apart.

I did not fight him for power, I let him inflict whatever tenderness he wanted. Our united bodies danced across the sheets, wiping away any doubt, any guilt, any suffering that our hearts and minds held on to.

As our bodies reached boiling point, his strong build bouldering down onto my fragile frame, our eyes found one another. A glassy surface of tears found its way to my eyes, "I love you." My raspy voice managed to whisper, before I nestled myself into his chest, exhausted.

"I love you…" His honey-sweet voice murmured into my ear, his strong arms holding me tightly to his body.


	5. Adagio

Now that I had him here with me, there wasn't a single part of my body that could possibly part with him

We continued to lie on the bed together for hours, the sun rising and setting, the stars appearing one by one. We had disappeared from the world for 2 days time… oblivious to anything and everything. Not very many words had passed between us, just simple "I love you" s, between tender kisses. His arms would not let go of my body, they kept me locked in, almost as though he was afraid that I would disappear, something that at that point, would be impossible for me to achieve… how could I ever let go of him? How could I live a minute, a second without him?

"Bella… what are you thinking, beautiful?" He asked, his gentle fingers tracing circles on my ribcage, across and under my breasts. I took a deep breath, trying to awake from my self-inflicted peaceful meditation.

"I'm thinking about how I could never leave you, how I don't think I could even function with you gone for a moment…" I hated sounding weak, but Edward was the only person whom I could be weak with.

"Well, there shouldn't be a problem with that, seeing as to how I'm never letting you out of my sight again." He said softly as he changed our position, I was now on my back, and he was hovering above my uncovered body. His eyes burning me with their glaze, looking over every detail of my new body. He looked briefly into my eyes; his eyes playful, as he grinned slyly, making my useless heart beat faster. He rested his ear to my chest, listening to the irregular heartbeat, licking his lips sensuously. I brought my hands to his hair, running them through the silky copper mess.

"I love you…" I managed to spurt out. He mumbled something incoherent as his mouth wrapped itself around my breast, knocking all breath out of me.

Suddenly, a loud groan came from the back of his throat, a moan that seemed to be rather angry. And then I saw it… his family was about to encroach on the little love nest we had nestled in. We broke apart brusquely; I searched around the room, pulling on my lace underwear, while Edward pulled on his pants, doing up his leather belt. I found my blouse on the floor, definitely too crumpled up to wear, and so, I grabbed the next best thing, Edward's now-button less shirt. I slid it onto my shoulders, holding it tightly to me as I breathed in his sweet smell. Edward attempted to make the bed, fully aware that our valiant efforts would go unnoticed; of course his family had known what we were up to. Edward's strong arms wrapped around me, holding his shirt closed, as he sat on the edge of the bed, with me on his lap. We patiently waited for his family to arrive, Edward aware of their closeness by their thoughts, listening intently, while I closed my eyes and saw them coming towards us. They walked in, one by one, cautious to approach us…because of me. They had seen something at the club, they had seen how much of a wild card I had become, how feral and aggressive I could be. To my utmost surprise, Rosalie was the first to step in front of me; she had no fear of me, she understood exactly what had happened, why I had been so vile upon seeing them again. She quickly came to grab me into her arms, and Edward let go of me, allowing me to hug her back. It was suddenly as if all the animosity that had once existed between us disappeared, we held onto one another, aware that now, our bond as sisters was unbreakable, unshakable. As we pulled away from one another, I looked to my left, seeing Alice out of the corner of my eye, her doe eyes sad and hurt. She thought that I hated her, that I couldn't forgive her.

"Alice…" I approached her carefully before stopping in front of her small frame, where Jasper loosened the tight grip he had on her. I smiled softly at her, before we met in a long embrace. I hugged her tightly, I had my best friend back, and though she had left me for so long, I couldn't find it within myself to hate her, to feel anything but relief to have her by my side once more.

"I missed you so much, Bella." She whispered as she pulled away, her eyes examining me from head to toe; a small frown appeared, creasing her brow. "Though I see your fashion sense hasn't changed much… or should I say, lack there of?" A sly smile made its way onto her lips, making whatever tension that existed in the room lift suddenly. I was then grabbed into a hard hug by Emmett, who proceeded to attempt ruffling my brown hair, clearly forgetting that I was now a vampire and possessed the same strength as he did, if not more. The look of surprise on his face as he found himself caught in a headlock by little old Bella was priceless, lifting the hearts of everyone in the room. I hugged Jasper, feeling the emotions that radiated out of him; it was clear that my absence, or rather, their absence, had changed every single one of us, and by the looks of it, for the better.

"Our Bella…" Esme's soft, motherly voice called out, as I was pulled into a hug by both her and Carlisle. Their hug was so comforting, it was a hug that two parents would give their child; a kind of hug that I'd been long without.

"Alright then, gang, now that we're all together again…. A family. Where to?" Carlisle's voice rang with authority.

Edward's arms snaked back around my waist, holding me closely. Smiles plastered quite permanently to our faces.

"Well, I heard that Greenland is quite nice this time of year…" Emmett began to speak, before Rosalie's strict voice interrupted him. "Emmett, you are NOT dragging us to the most depressing place in the world, thank you very much! We both know that the shopping is terrible and that-" "But Rose! There are plenty of-" "NO EMMETT!"

The entire family kept arguing, bickering back and forth as to _our_ next destination… I looked around me, their faces had been absent from my life for such a long time… never again could I live without them.


End file.
